At least 10 of the dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School were children, the source said. At a news conference Friday afternoon, state police Lt. Paul Vance would say only that there had been "several fatalities."

The school was secure, and the public was not in danger, Vance said.

"Why? Why?" one woman wailed as she walked up a wooded roadway leading from the school.

A parent who was inside the school at the time of the attack said she heard what sounded like at least 100 rounds being fired. She said she saw two school employees who had died.

'I hope my mom is ok': Tweets from the Connecticut school shooting

Hospital officials in neighboring Danbury said they were treating three people wounded in the shooting. Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton said the victims were in "very serious" condition.

The shooter is dead, a source with knowledge of the investigation told CNN's Susan Candiotti. The suspect's body is in a classroom at the school, the source said.

A law enforcement source with knowledge of the investigation said a male was being questioned but he is not being called a suspect.

Federal officers in tactical gear were on the scene, coordinating with local and state police. At least four ambulances remained at the school Friday afternoon.

Police have recovered two weapons from the suspect, a Glock and a Sig Sauer, the source said. It's unclear if police killed the suspect.

'It doesn't seem possible' -- parents shocked by school shooting

Police and teachers rushed students from the building as police swarmed the area shortly after the first calls came in, around 9:40 a.m. ET. Officials moved students to a nearby firehouse, where parents frantically sought information about their children.

Third-grader Alexis Wasik said police and teachers barged into her classroom and told students to hide in the corner.

"Everybody was crying," she said. "And I just heard the police officers yelling."

Aerial images from CNN affiliate News 12 New Jersey showed police officers armed with rifles following a dog into woods near the school.

Other officers, some in tactical gear, stood around the school with guns drawn, CNN affiliate WFSB reported.

All schools in the city were on lockdown Friday as police assessed the situation, Vance said.

Gov. Dan Malloy is "horrified" by what happened, a spokesman said.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said the Obama administration feels "enormous sympathy" for affected families and pledged federal support for state and local law enforcement.

Newtown is about 60 miles north of New York.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

This thread is not a place for discussion about gun control. There's a thread for that here:

you're missing the context...I'm not saying that it would've prevented this horrible tragedy.

What's your point then? This has so little to do with school policy regarding prayer, especially considering it wasn't even a school classmate. The tragedy took place in a school. How is this remotely relevant to school curriculum?

you're missing the context...I'm not saying that it would've prevented this horrible tragedy.

I think I see where you are coming from. They could use God but aren't allowed to pray in school... right?

School is secular and should be unless it is a private Christian (or insert other religion here) school. There is no rule stating that a student cannot pray, nor one that states that they cannot lead fellow classmates in prayer. It cannot be lead or mandated by the school... which I have no problem with at all.

I think I see where you are coming from. They could use God but aren't allowed to pray in school... right?

School is secular and should be unless it is a private Christian (or insert other religion here) school. There is no rule stating that a student cannot pray, nor one that states that they cannot lead fellow classmates in prayer. It cannot be lead or mandated by the school... which I have no problem with at all.

Haven't read the thread, but I bet the cliff notes are something like this

1 gun nuts saying if someone else would have had a gun then it wouldn't have happened.

2 People saying we must do something about gun control to keep guns out of the hands of crazy people being belittled and accused of being political despite the already political comments from gun nuts.

3 Religitards saying god has a plan or whatever else they use to justify the existence of their imaginary sky friend.

That cover it well?

On a serious note, I'm pretty pro gun rights but obviously some new restrictions to keep guns out of the hands of ****ing crazy people. I'm usually pretty calloused to these mass shootings but this one really hit home because my son is a first grader.

__________________
The diameter of your knowledge is the circumference of your actions. Ras Kass

Everybody should just step back and take a deep breath and just chill for a day. Very heat of the moment emotions tonight, it's hard to be objective or reasoned when a terrible event like this happens. We should focus on the families that have suffered loss, then hash out all the arguments -political, religious, criminal- when heads are clear. That's not to say we ignore future conversation. America needs to deal with this, it's not going away.